A Failure to Communicate
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 109606
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Suddenly Fred's situation jumped from rather desperate to almost entirely hopeless. She... she had no way of communicating? None at all? Staring at the blank page, she began to feel hot, and black crowded around her vision as she became lost in what seemed at the time to her to be the practical impossibility of ever restoring her old form. The world pitched dangerously, and she knew no more. She climbed back to consciousness less than a minute later, and found that the woman was arranging her in the humble bed she had seen earlier. "Oh!" said the woman. "You're awake, good. You fainted - I'm not certain why, but you must be exhausted. Why don't you just try to rest, and we'll see about getting to know each other when you feel better. All right?" Fred didn't nod, didn't respond in any way, but the woman finished tucking her in and promptly left the hut, though moments later Fred heard her humming from outside, presumably working in a garden or something similar. She lay in the bed as evening gathered, her head still spinning. How would she do anything? She could never communicate her situation to anyone, let alone ask for help. She was useless. Perhaps this woman could teach her how to read or write? Or she could learn some form of sign language? But what if Belboz had removed her ability for language entirely? But she still understood it, so maybe there was hope in that regard... She felt tears trembling in her eyes, and at first tried with all her might not to release them. But eventually she gave in, and cried silently in the dark of the hut. The following morning, she felt a little better, but not enough to really matter. The woman introduced herself as Wenda and eventually understood that Fred had no ability to write. She asked, "Do you have a name at all, dear?" and Fred nodded, leading Wenda to look perplexed. "Well, if you have no way to tell me what it is... well, you understand the problem." Fred nodded again, quite sadly. Fortunately, with just the two of them, it wasn't as if they could confuse each other with anyone else, and Wenda simply took to calling Fred by a variety of pet names. Fred wasn't a huge fan, but couldn't really complain - literally. Fred attempted to request literacy lessons by taking out the small number of books - which were, to her, filled with incomprehensible scribbles, although the pictures seemed to mostly feature foods and herbs - and papers Wenda had and gesturing with her single writing utensil. It took a bit of time, but eventually Wenda said, "If you're wanting me to teach you to write, I'm afraid I'm not very good myself, and I'm no teacher. Those books are just cookbooks and some gardening instructional books, and I struggle even with them. I'm sorry, sweetie." Fred tried to figure out how to indicate that a little literacy was better than none at all, but she didn't know how, and eventually, frustratingly, felt tears coming on yet again. Wenda took her into her arms, but Fred pulled quickly away, unwilling to subject herself to such a situation. She was not meant to be a crying girl seeking comfort from an old hermit in the woods! She was a strong, heroic knight of a great kingdom tasked with destroying the greatest threat that kingdom had ever faced! She ran outside to be alone, and sat at the edge of the clearing, staring forlornly into the woods. Was the old Fred lost forever? It didn't even feel safe to seek out a village with more prospects; wherever she went, she might run into the king's guard, seeking to force her into a marriage she had been sold into. And in this form, she had little hope of eluding them, if it came to that. Again she wept at her plight, and as she did, she noticed something moving near her. It was a fawn, coming remarkably close to nuzzle her cheek. Moments later a chipmunk had come to alight on her lap. Staring in wonder and shock at the woodland animals, she realized that she was a beautiful princess, a damsel in distress in the woods. In the old fairy tales, wild beasties flocked to such people. The realization pushed her over the edge into full-on sobbing, as she wondered if she had even been changed spiritually, and if there was any hope at all of changing back, even if she miraculously found someone who could try to help. Eventually, she came crawling back to the hut, having worn herself out crying, and become rather famished. Wenda fed her split pea soup and asked her yes or no questions. "Are you running from something, or someone?" Nod. "Do they want to hurt you?" Shake. "Do they want you to do something you don't want to?" Nod. "Is it possible they could find you here?" Reluctant nod. "Do you have family?" This one left Fred staring blankly at the table. Yes, as a knight, Fred had had family, but one might argue that the woman he'd become didn't. And in any case, what could she hope might happen if she were brought to them? She had no way of explaining who she was. No... she could not face them until being restored. At length, she shook her head. Eventually Wenda said, "Well, if you want to stay, you can. We'll see if we can make a cot of some sort for you to sleep on; last night destroyed my back, I hate to say, so I must insist on the bed. I'll teach you to cook and clean and garden. It's not so hard a life out here, and it's peaceful. It can be lonely when it's just you, but we have each other, don't we?" Fred tried to smile. The cot Wenda and Fred built the following day was rickety and uncomfortable, but it was better than sleeping in the woods. Fred was put to work making sure the small hut was always clean, and over the course of a few days she learned the very basics of gardening and cooking. She burned with shame at performing such menial tasks, but tried to find some honor in them. As time went on she began to realize that she felt a significant need to keep up her looks, a difficult task in a place like this. She didn't know if Belboz had implanted this urge specifically, but it would align with many of the other things he had done to her [104458]. She felt petty, helpless, and utterly alone, all at once.
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9/11/2020 11:41:38 PM
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